Amelia Shepherd
| First Appearance Series=Private Practice | First Appearance Episode=3x19 | Last Appearance= | Last Appearance Series=Grey's Anatomy | Last Appearance Episode=10x24 | Name=Amelia Shepherd | Nicknames=Amy | Occupation=Physician, Neurosurgeon | Hometown=Boston, Massachusetts, USA | Status=Alive | Family Members=Carolyn Shepherd - Mother Father Derek Shepherd - Brother Kathleen Shepherd - Sister Nancy Shepherd - Sister Liz Shepherd - Sister Baby "Unicorn" Shepherd - Son }}Dr. Amelia Shepherd is a neurosurgeon currently practicing at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, and the former resident neurosurgical specialist at Oceanside Wellness. She is the youngest sister of Derek Shepherd Character History Amelia is the youngest child of the Shepherd family, born after her brother Derek and sister's Nancy, Liz and Kathleen. Aged five, she and Derek witnessed the murder of their father and the loss placed a great strain on their family. As they grew up Amelia became the family's black sheep and developed a serious drug addiction. While under the influence she notable crashed Derek's car, stole her mother's presription pad to allow her acsess to medication and, in one instance, nearly died but was saved by Derek. In the wake of her near death experience Amelia strived to sort her life out and maintained Sobrety for sometime. She became, like her brother, a practicing neurosurgeon completing her residency at Johns Hopkins and gained a coveted spot as a fellow to world-renowned surgeon Dr. Ginsberg Private Practice, Season 3 and Amelia reunite over a difficult case. ]] Amelia arrived in L.A with Dr. Ginsberg but she was quickly fired as her fellow after offering a procedure to a patient that Ginsberg disagreed with. Regardless, she proved herself to be a talented neurosurgeron and she decided to stay in L.A with Addison. Her presence forced Addison to realize she was accepted second best as Amelia pushed Sam and Addison to accept their feelings for each other while she faced her own demons when she was reminded of her drug addiction. After the car crash that threatened the lives of Maya and Dell, Amelia's skills were put to the test as she operated on Dell but was unable to save him, leaving the practice devestated. Private Practice, Season 4 persuades Amelia to visit Derek in Seattle. ]] In the aftermath of the her brother's shooting, Amelia refused to return to Seattle to visit Derek but eventually went at Addison's request. In Seattle, she and Derek repaired their estranged relationship and Amelia slept with Mark Sloan. She returned to L.A and officially joined the practice citing that she had nowhere else to go. She developed a friendship with Cooper, with flirtatious undertones, and when Charlotte was raped Cooper turned hostile towards Amelia as he was drinking with her when it happened. As fellow former narcotic addicts, Amelia and Charlotte formed a bond in the wake of her rape when Charlotte turned to Amelia to help her stay away from drugs. After things turned tough with Charlotte, Cooper tries to kiss Amelia but she stopped him and told him to go home to Charlotte, agreeing not to speak of it again. Amelia eventually became a vital part of the practice and her neurosurgery skills helped save various patients. One patient she failed to help though was her good friend Michelle who Amelia persuaded to take the test to see if she had Huntington's Disease. After learning of her friend's positive status, Amelia lied to her fearing she would take her own life if she knew the truth. Michelle eventually learned the truth and she and Amelia reconsiled their friendship with Amelia promising to euthanize Michelle when her symptoms developed In spite of Charlotte becoming aware of Cooper's previous indiscretion and initally turning hostile towards Amelia, their friendship survived and floruished to the extent where Charlotte asked Amelia to be her maid of honor. She also helped support Addison through her break up with Sam. At the wedding, Amelia inadvertantly took a sip of champagne and began battlig her addictions once again, something unaided by her residual guilt of Dell's death and Betsey's situation. Unable to maintain her sobriety, Amelia began drinking again. Amelia began to avoid Charlotte, as she tried to push her to attend a meeting, and when Charlotte realized that she was drinking again she withdrew her surgical privilages at St. Ambrose. This pushed Amelia to fall completly off the wagon and began her descent into darkness. Private Practice, Season 5 reques to be euthanized sends Amelia down a dark path. ]] Amelia remained adamant that her continued drinking wouldn't cause a relapse of her drug addiction. However, when Pete was rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack, Charlotte was forced to go against her better judgement and allow Amelia to operate to save his life. While Amelia sucseeded in saving his life and expected to be celebrated, Charlotte was quick to remind her that her privilages were still suspended. After Charlotte made her submit to breathalizer tests in order to retain her surgical privilages, Amelia started to battle her drinking but her attempts were futile. However, it would be the return of her friend Michelle that would send her over the edge. Her friend's request to euthanize her forced Amelia to struggle but she eventually persuaded her friend to live. However, after finding out that Michelle had killed herself to avoid dealing with her Huntington's, Amelia took the pills she used to commit suicide and started abusing drugs once again. and the Seaside Wellness doctors hold in intervention for Amelia's drug abuse. ]] Private Practice, Season 6 develops. ]] Amelia, now one year sober tries to put her life back on track after the emotional devastation of the year before, continuing to lean on Sheldon as she starts a new chapter and Addison helps reaffirm her recovery by asking Amelia to care for Henry if something should happen to her. Meanwhile, Amelia develops a flirtatious rapport with E.R doctor James Peterson, but she initially turns him down saying that she isn't the girl he thinks she is after everything she's been through. However, despite turning him down many times, she eventually starts to let him in and goes on a date with him. Grey's Anatomy, Season 10 in Seattle. ]] Over a year later, James proposes to Amelia and, although she says yes, Amelia freaks out and decides to visit Seattle to visit Derek and his newborn son in order to see if she's cut out for family life. While in Seattle, she joins Derek during surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and, while she struggles to step out of Derek's shadow, she begins to feel the rush of being a surgeon in a big city hospital prompting Derek to suggest she should take over his rotation. Amelia ultimately decides she can't continue her engagement to James, realizing that she needed James to help her through her trauma but she's through it and needs to start thinking of herself again, and decides to peruse a relocation to Seattle, just as Derek announces his plans to leave for D.C. Amelia, ready to start her life in Seattle and ready for Derek's shadow to disappear, urges Meredith and Derek to begin their new chapter to D.C. Grey's Anatomy, Season 11 Relationships Family Amelia is often seen as the black sheep of her family, the Shepherds. The youngest and most rebellious child of Carolyn Shepherd, Amelia's reckless behaviour and drug addiction put a strain on her relationship with her mother and her elder brother Derek in the wake of her father's murder. Derek and Amelia would eventually repair their estranged relationship after he was also shot, with Derek admitting he feels like he has to protect Amelia. Romantic Life Career Amelia like all of her brothers and sisters, became a doctor and followed her brother Derek's footsteps into the field of neurosurgery. She gained a place as a fellow of the famed neurosurgeon Dr. Ginsberg but was fired from her team after offering a controvertial procedure to the family of comatose Kayla Lindy that Ginsberg disagreed with. Amelia has since joined Oceanside Wellness and proved herself to be a competent neurosurgeon, even if she is often rash and overconfident about her abilties. Amelia's drug addiction has interfered with her career on many occasions, but none more so than when she resigned her priviledges at St. Ambrose in the midst of her relapse. Trivia *Amelia insists that only Derek can call her Amy although Addison, Sam, Mark and Meredith have all also used the nickname at some point. *In addition to appeared in Private Practice, Amelia has also appeared in the Grey's Anatomy episodes , , , , and before joining the parent series' main cast for the eleventh season. Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Private Practice Characters Category:Grey's Anatomy Characters Category:PP Season 3 Characters Category:PP Season 4 Characters Category:GA Season 7 Characters Category:PP Season 5 Characters Category:GA Season 8 Characters Category:PP Season 6 Characters Category:GA Season 10 Characters Category:Doctors Category:The Shepherd Family Category:Orphan on father side Category:Orphans on father side Category:Former drug addict